Johnny Herbert: Ferrari-mad tifosi always make Monza a treat

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is always something special and I think we’re in for a real treat this weekend.

The fans, the Ferrari-mad tifosi, always make sure that the place is a sea of colour — exclusively red, of course — and deafeningly noisy.

The Italians love their motorsport but unlike the British fans who will get behind any of their own drivers, it’s the scarlet Ferraris and their heroes who drive them that the tifosi want to see. They love their sport, they love their cars… but more than anything they love to see them win.

So what are the chances of a Ferrari driver finishing on top of the podium on Sunday? Well there’s a chance — an outside one — but a chance. The team have made big improvements this season and Sebastian Vettel has won here three times before, albeit not in a Ferrari, so he obviously likes the track. And Kimi Raikkonen has had some poor luck this season, so this would be the place to turn it around. I doubt whether Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will have as big an advantage in their Mercedes here… and it’s Ferrari who will be waiting to pounce. But Lewis won’t make it easy for them — or Nico, for that matter. Everything seems to have fallen into place for Lewis this season and he will want to keep up that dominance.

I am lucky to have some great memories of Monza, having won an F1 race for the second time here 20 years ago, just weeks after winning my first at Silverstone.

I’d started eighth on the grid and, to be honest, I was fortunate to win that day. A camera on Jean Alesi’s Ferrari fell off and damaged the suspension of his team-mate Gerhard Berger’s car before Alesi retired while in the lead with only a few laps to go. Damon Hill went into the rear of Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard, who was on pole, had to run a spare car set up for Damon after spinning on the warm-up lap. It was just one of those races we used to have back then.

My relationship with Benetton was virtually non-existent by that time and I think they had all just about packed up and left when I made it back after collecting the trophy but I couldn’t really have cared less.

I’d won at iconic Monza, had the national anthem played in my honour and had all the attention from those fans, with that enormous Ferrari flag that was about the size of a football pitch shimmering in front of me. Happy memories, indeed.